On February 4 1832, Joseph Bailey stepped onto a flat-boat he had moored at the lower end of the island at Jersey Shore. Suddenly the ice shifted, his boat became and unmoored, and with no oar or paddle, Bailey was adrift in a current of ice. His shouts were soon heard and friends and family followed along the shore on horseback. Despite their best efforts, it was simply not possible to reach Bailey as he passed through Jaysburg and into Williamsport, it was now dark, and the next real hope of rescue would be at the bridge in Milton. Bailey floated through he night, getting stuck at Fishers Island (above Dewart) and having to work his way loose with no paddle or oar. He finally made it to Milton at daybreak, where a hundred people lined the bridge with ropes. "Friends preceded him to Milton, and when his craft hove in sight hundreds lined the river bridge. As he was about to pass under, a rope was thrown to him, which he caught and was drawn up and saved.".
His boat floated on to Lewisburg, where it was recovered, and sold to Daniel Caldwell, who used it as a ferry at Watsontown.
A More Detailed Account:
THE RESCUE OF JOSEPH BAILEY
From The History Of Northumberland County By Everts & Stewart
Late in the afternoon of the 4th day of February, 1832, Joseph Bailey, of Jersey Shore, went down to the river side, to secure a flat-boat, which he had 'moored at the lower end of the island, opposite the town. The water in the stream was rising, and the ice was becoming loose and detached, notwithstanding that the weather was cold.
Stepping on board the flat, and having his attention diverted for a moment, he was dismayed, on looking up, to find himself not only loose from the shore, and in the current of the river, but that his boat was so fastened to, and encumbered with the masses of floating ice, as to be entirely unmanageable. He had neither oar nor paddle, and, indeed, if he had, they would have been useless. He was in the swiftest part of the stream, and whirling along, sometimes broadside to the current, and sometimes stern foremost.
But his shouts were heard on shore, and his neighbors were not slow in showing their will to help him.
They mounted their horses, and armed with coils of rope, rode on to Linden, to head him off, and, as they believed, to rescue him there. But they had miscalculated their strength and skill, for they failed to reach him, and so the swift waters hurried him on.
At Jaysburg, they repeated the the trial, but only succeeded in cheering him by their shouts and assurances of eventual rescue.
Again at Williamsport, he went careering past, wedged and helpless in the crowded masses of ice, and again they found themselves powerless to do more than to renew the promise to stand by and not desert him. But night had now closed in, and there could be no hope of rescue till daylight should come, and by that time were would he be? They could not keep him in sight during the hours of darkness, and it must surely be a night of danger and of suffering-both bodily and mental-to him..
There was no bridge across the river at any point nearer than Milton, put the very fact of its distance was an encouraging one, for it was so far away, that he might not reach it until after daylight, and if he could safely pass the Muncy dam, and survive all the perils of the ice and the flood, and the cold, and if the friendly light would come before he reached the :Milton bridge, they would certainly save him there. So the mounted messengers went on, carrying the warning to Muncy and Milton, and he was unwillingly left to the mercies' of the night and the river.
The current was very rapid, and swept him on, till soon he .was nearing the dam at Muncy. We may imagine, 'but we can never know, his anxiety as he' approached it, his thankfulness, when he found himself safely past, nor the eagerness of his gaze, as he looked in vain to the eastward, over the Muncy hills, for the first streakings of the February dawn. He was moving on as rapidly as ever, hour after hour passed, it was but a few miles more to the bridge, and the night seemed interminable.
It became evident that he must pass Milton in the darkness, and could now only look for his friends to save him at Lewisburg or Northumberland. He knew they would be there, if they failed at Milton. They would have stood by him to the Chesapeake, if need be!
Suddenly he felt himself moving slower, and soon he was stationary, grinding among the loose ice, against the head of Tyler's (now Fisher's) Island, a short distance above Dewart.
In good earnest he set himself at work, with what means he had, to get in und secure his flat to the island, but, after two or three hours of' vain labor, he found his boat and himself' moving into the current, and again carried irresistibly down the stream. But it was morning now, and the hard labor which he had had, in endeavoring to land the boat, had moved his blood, and driven away the'chill and numbness, so that when he approached the unfinished bridge, and saw the preparations made for his succor, he felt confident that his dangerous journey was nearly at an end.
The rescuers, when they saw he would pass in the eastern channel, had gathered upon .that section of the bridge with ropes securely looped, and cast over the side-- which was very conveniently done, as the bridge had not yet been weather-boarded. They feared, however, that he would be too much benumbed with cold to secure himself in the loops, or that he might lose his hold and drop in the river, after his boat had passed from under him.
As he came to the upper side of the bridge, General Henry Frick threw him a thick cloak, and General Hammond, an overcoat, so that if he failed to catch the ropes, he might, at least., have a covering for his chilled limbs. But coat and cloak struck the water, and were carried away in an instant.
He did not need them, however, for, . as he came near the loop, he stood up, grasped it firmly, and,.in a few moments, was standing on the floor of the bridge safe and sound, and, it must be said, but little injured by his winternight's voyage down the west branch!
His boat was caught at Lewisburg, and was purchased by Daniel Caldwell, who used it as a ferry-boat between Watsontown and White Deer mills.
Read More About When Watsontown Had a Ferry, Here:
BAILEY’S PERILOUS RIDE
In February, 1832, Joseph Bailey, who lived on the island [in Jersey Shore], had a thrilling adventure. The ice on the river was suddenly broken up by a freshet. Bailey had a flatboat tied near the lower end of the island, and while endeavoring to better secure it, the pressure of the ice broke the mooring and boat and man were carried down the stream.
The situation was perilous, but there was no way of escaping to the shore. His brother, Robert S. Bailey, and others, followed on the shore mounted on horses to encourage him. Williamsport was passed in the night, and although scores of people were on the lookout, they could render no aid.
The craft dashed through the "race ground rapids" below Loyalsock, safely passed the breach in Muncy dam, and continued down the river
Friends preceded him to Milton, and when his craft hove in sight hundreds lined the river bridge. As he was about to pass under, a rope was thrown to him, which he caught and was drawn up and saved.
His ride was a perilous one, and he almost perished with cold, having been afloat from early in the afternoon until 9 o'clock the next morning. -History of Lycoming County By Meginness, 1892
============
As you travel Rt. 44S leaving Jersey Shore over the west branch of the Susquehanna river you enter Nippenose Township and cross the “Island”. The “Island” was formerly known as Bailey’s Island (named for the Bailey family who owned the island in the 1800’s) and Long Island (a name known to the Native Americans) was a very active area. In the 1700’s at the southern tip of the island was a large Native American settlement situated on the riverbank. The location allowed them to use the river for travel, and keep an eye on Fort Antes, which was located opposite the island.
============
For More Local History & Stories from the Susquehanna Valley
===============
READ MORE
=============
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'll read the comments and approve them to post as soon as I can! Thanks for stopping by!